Server Side Includes (SSI) Demo

SSI is one of the oldest server-side technologies (dating back to the mid-1990s). It allows embedding dynamic content into HTML pages using special directives that the web server processes before sending the page to the client.

Classic SSI tutorial from the early web (via Archive.org)

Include Directive

The <!--#include virtual="..." --> directive inserts another file:

Main Page Content

This is the main content of the page. The header above and footer below are included from separate files using SSI.

Echo Directive - Environment Variables

The <!--#echo var="..." --> directive outputs server variables:

Your IP Address: 216.73.216.97

Current Date/Time: Wednesday, 04-Feb-2026 01:26:52 UTC

Document Name: ssi.shtml

Server Software: Apache/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)

Request Method: GET

Conditional Directives

SSI supports basic conditionals using <!--#if -->, <!--#else -->, <!--#endif -->:

Browser Detection: Browser not specifically detected.

File Information

Last Modified: Tuesday, 27-Jan-2026 22:06:54 UTC

Document URI: /ssi.shtml

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